What's a Fenris?
by Terrasite Core
Summary: Of all the universes and all the people within those universes Fenris could have been stuck with, he just had to get the one person who was, perhaps, his greatest foil. Happy, Unafraid, and magically competent (if you could call it that), Abel Cas would make sure that Fenris would never see the world the same again.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello all, this is my first Fanfiction so I hope you can help me get through this trying experience. This is fic is mostly being made so that I can use my character, Abel Cas, in another setting. I aim to flesh out his character as much as possible so that I can write him out correctly in my ACTUAL novel.**

**Please review or PM me for suggestions and corrections that need to be done.**

**Thank you.**

**Jay Valus**

**(Oh yes, PS: This is not a Yaoi fic.)**

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**Chapter 1**

**The Chaos That Is Abel Cas**

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This is the story of one elf and his meeting with, perhaps, the strangest individual that he had ever seen.

It's a tale of epic successes and bitter failures

A tale of the craziest strokes of genius and of insane moments of stupidity

But most of all, this is a story of one broken soul befriending someone he could have never imagined.

It all began three weeks after the eve of the 33rd year. Back from a day of random side jobs, the dark skinned elf felt the need to go to his humble and destroyed abode, the ruins of his old masters mansion. The night was quiet; High Town wasn't the type of place to have thugs wandering around.

The flickering lights from the torches along with the pale moon's glare had trickled into the streets. The gaze of the moon had been unhindered with not a cloud in the night sky to even hide the stars. Shadows crept along every surface, from the cobblestone streets to the wooden stands still left outside. They moved along mischievously and Fenris yawned as his voice almost echoed.

He was tired though most of his physical problems were skin deep compared to what was truly assailing him. It was an empty name to some, though most had come to know who he was thinking of especially since her recent rise in status had garnered attention from even the Viscount himself.

Hawke

She was a thorn at his side, one he wished he could remove. Then again, to be fair, Fenris never thought the thorn was a proper visual to use especially with how he viewed Hawke. He would have described her as a knife that he himself put. Yes, he put it there, like a curse that kept ripping at his sides as it gut him to the core.

One side of him wanted to turn away, oh yes. The charismatic woman was a mage and one who was rising into the upper classes of Kirkwall's elites. He wasn't blind to her similarities with the Tevinter magisters and, given time and corruption, she would be the very same power hungry governors that enslaved him and branded his skin. If she was anyone else, he would have killed Hawke on the spot for trying to take control.

But he just couldn't bring himself to do it. Was it her alabaster skin or deep soothing eyes that hypnotized him or maybe it was her carefree attitude that could face down a dragon giving him chills? He didn't remember; the point was that, the moment he met her, Fenris was forever hooked on the one being that had come to him on a speeding bolt of lightning, literally in some senses and figuratively in others.

Of course, he maintained his attitude, especially around the other two apostates within Hawke's group, one of whom happened to be Hawke's sister. Had it not been Carver, he might have just left the group entirely, but luckily the boy had helped him feel somewhat comforted, even if it was a spoiled child that shared his thoughts. The abomination also helped cement his thoughts as well; Anders would see his time soon enough.

Because he had kept his pact, however, Hawke had definitely mostly stayed away from him. In fact, now that he thought about it, she rarely took him with her at all, only coming when Aveline was busy working as the Captain of the Guard. He didn't think much about it at first, but when the Deep Roads changed his perspective. The several weeks she had been down in those Darkspawn infested tunnels were nervous times for him. Thoughts popped in his head, promises that he would be nicer or kinder to Hawke and the other apo– mages in the group. Of course, after a short while, it switched to only Hawke and then was further rewritten with the intent of showing respect rather appreciation.

When she did come back, nothing had changed and he was still stuck in that mansion of his once more.

He remembered being told once that it was better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all. He also remembered killing the man who told him that. The man's words stuck out now, more so than ever as he opened his door as the musty smell of the Mansion came to him. The smell, like his heart, was a bitter reminder to what he would not have.

Words could not describe how much the mansion had changed since the beginning. The cleaning and the refurnishing helped him pass the days and it certainly helped him clear his head of the woman. Speaking of women, Isabela had done a great deal for him in regards with the mansion. As much as he'd like to admit, the tax collectors that had been stalking the mansion made him feel unsecure and their disappearances were most relieving.

But no matter what he did, the smell had never changed. He thought about removing the musk, but he stopped himself before he even started. Perhaps he needed it in some way. It told him something, to fight on and to remember to kill Danarius. Hell, maybe after he killed his previous master, Fenris could finally show his feelings to Hawke.

Yes, that would be a good prospect . . .

. . . but how long would that take.

He sighed as he found the room he usually slept in and leaned his sword against the nearest wall to his bed. Fenris removed his armor and the cool air swept into his room through the open window. It rubbed against both his skin and his tattoos, two distinct feelings that mixed numbness and stinging assailed him.

He just wanted the day to end and get a good night rest. The fabric of the bed mushed onto his back as he lay there. The softness wrapped around him as the blankets heated his skin. Slowly but surely, the darkness took its toll as he put himself into a deep and tranquil slumber.

Ever closer to the state of blissful silence, Fenris lay still in his cot as his mental lights dimmed for the night.

He didn't know how long he slept, but the time he took to rest his eyes were ones of blissful perfection. Fenris dreamed that he was floating and that his tattoos were gone. The images were empty as his mind perhaps did not know what to put in its place, but the quiet comforted him

. . .

. . .

. . .

And then something exploded

It was a rather loud BOOM that roared out from a room below him. The noise made him bolt up from his bed, jumping as you will, to his sword. The distance, however, widened as his body pushed the sword away and without the hilt to hold him up, Fenris soon found his face on the ground.

Unfazed, but confused beyond belief, Fenris clumsily stumbled up and out of the cot. The elf slapped his armor on as quickly as he could. Finishing up, he grabbed his sword and positioned himself near his door. His ear twitched as he tried to hear whatever had gone outside his room, perhaps it was Denarius finally making himself known. The sounds were unclear, but from what he could tell, there was at most one person speaking to another.

He edged closer to the door knob. After a moment of silence, the person seemed to speak once more and that was his queue. His feet barely made a sound as Fenris crept out of his room. The mere mumbles had gotten louder and he could now discern the voice as a male. As Fenris came around the corner, he stopped as the voice he had heard quieted, but he had already deduced where it was coming from.

All the doors on the ground floor had been closed except one. Fenris always made sure to lock what he never touched or needed, a habit of his that kept him safe. This would slow down any infiltrators as all the doors would need to be noisily unlocked or broken to be worked through to get to him.

However, something seemed amiss as he came over the open door way. As he silently lept down to the ground, he could see no existence of a wooden body covering the door way. In fact, the door was in pieces in front of the room as if it had been blown off its hinges. As he came to inspect the wood, Fenris found the pieces of the door was caved in. It was almost as if the door had been pushed out from the inside . . . from within a room that had no windows

Fenris' eyes narrowed as he prepared his blade. There were a lot of things that the elven fugitive didn't understand or know of, but what he did know was that swords and the threat of heart tearing tended to get answers. Hopefully, he'd get to do a bit of both to this intruder.

Moving to the door, he took a peek inside and held his breath. Inside the room was one figure standing in front of a . . . well, something. To him, it looked like some circular portal of energy that swirled constantly in a strange undulating fashion.

What in the Maker was this thing? It was probably how he got in, but was it already there to begin with? Fenris muttered to himself as he snuck up closer to the figure and looked around. The room had no furnishings and thus he could see that this one figure was the only man here. The intruder was busy doing something and faced away from Fenris, but from the furious scratches, the elf could tell he was writing down something. Perhaps, this portal was an experiment and this one person was the experiment-ed.

As he came in closer, features started to come clearer to him that had been a part of the intruder all along. The light from the portal shined along the intruder's short black hair. He wore something akin to a cloak or a robe, but more open than the usual garb of mages. The one notable thing he saw was the fact that his clothing had patches and sewn in replacement fabrics. Rich was not a word he'd use to describe his intruder.

Perhaps he was a slave or a servant that had been tau— no that wouldn't make sense. The Tevinter wouldn't trust teaching anyone without a talent for magic. The male was a mage, that was a fact, though Fenris just couldn't help ask why any mage could wear something so dirty. Only when he was about six or so paces away could the elf see that the mage was also a human.

So then, how to go about this?

His mind worked furiously as seconds passed by in nail biting anticipation.

Going for a kill wouldn't give him answer, but simply interrogating the mage then and there gave room for the intruder to fight back. He could remove a limb, though there would be complications in keeping the man alive. Thus, the best option would be to knock him out and interrogate the man after preparing thoroughly.

Fenris kneeled to grab a rather large piece of wood, a leftover part from the broken frame of the door. Even with his sword, Fenris still prided his sneaking abilities as he moved ever closer to the man's form. Five steps away, the man continued scratching along in whatever he was holding. Another step later, Fenris could practically smell the magic on the man. Finally, Fenris got up to his intruder and pulled up the piece of wood in anticipation. It was only one more step that he needed and he was just creeping into position when suddenly something strange happened.

The portal ebbed grabbing the man's attention up. Fenris followed as well, confused at its actions when it started to shake violently. Of all the things he could have expected, what Fenris didn't foresee was the portal firing an unknown object into the man. What he also didn't expect was the man flying backwards into HIM.

Fenris took the unexpected blow like any person would, in the face.

Both he and his intruder flew backwards, turning the somewhat rectangular shaped doorway into something more chaotic. Fenris couldn't see anything as his mind when white with pain. He was bleeding, maybe the force of the hit had bruised some part of his body. For a minute or two, he could do nothing but wait for his dazed state to pass.

And then he felt it, a broken rib and something sticking right in his side to boot. A rock of some sorts had lodged itself right between his arm and his chest armor and had taken a rib with it. The pain he felt could only be described as him constantly forced to breathe nails that embedded themselves in his lungs. Every breath he drew, the nails dug in as if a sadistic mad man was pushing them through his chest.

Furthermore, he could hear his intruder get up and dust off the powdered paint and whatever the walls were made of. He himself could barely open his eyes and see the eventual death that awaited him. That or he'd be taken through the portal and given back to Danerius. It was too late now and his body was too weak to fight back.

Damn this mage

Damn them all

So he waited, slowing his breath as ease his pain. Fenris grit his teeth as the bone scratched at his lung and hoped that after every breath the mage would finally end the torment. But nothing happened, in fact, he hadn't even heard the intruder speak back or even insult him. Perhaps . . . the mage thought he was dead.

Thus, as best as he could, he opened his eyes as meekly and slowly as possible. Funny thing was, as soon as he could comprehend what he had been seeing, Fenris' eyes shot open and he held his breath.

There, right in his face, was a young face of a human giving a strange look of confusion. Young was very fitting; the boy looked even younger than Hawke little brother Carver. His eyes were wide and innocent and they almost smiled like the boy now did.

"Hello Mister Dark Elf," his bouncy voice shook Fenris back to reality, "Nice to meet you."

Fenris stayed still as his face contorted into absolute bewilderment. Did the boy just say Dark Elf? Who in the . . .

Fenris was about to speak again when his side stopped him. His flinching seemed to alert the human to Fenris' pain as he stepped back. The boy followed his hand and he gave a look of disgust.

"Whoa, now that's an owwie." He remarked with a hiss. Moving around Fenris, the human pulled up the object that Fenris did not recognize, a large leather shoulder bag. This had probably been what had been sent through the portal.

"Don't worry mister, I got just the thing for you," the child said shuffling through his bag, "It's somewhere right . . . HERE!"

With a resounding *POP, the human pulled out a small and flat circular rock. All around the side were markings of different symbols and shapes, ones that he had never seen. Alarms went off in his mind as the word "magic" started to form bile in his throat. Had Fenris not been feeling his bleeding side, he would have retorted or spat out something, but right now the pain was the only important thing to him.

The boy was now looking at his side, looking at whatever grievous wound Fenris had received during the incident. After several seconds of thought and pain, Fenris looked at the child's face in anticipation.

The human's face had gone through several iterations of confusion, brilliance, more doubt, strokes of genius, and back to more bewilderment. The boy pointed at the wound as he questioned.

"I should pull that out . . . right?"

Fenris eyes twitched.

"I DON'T KNOW!" Fenris wheezed out angrily. Was the mage now mocking him?

Judging by the face apologetic face the child gave shortly after, apparently not, "Oh sorry." His hand slowly went over to the wound.

Fenris didn't feel the boy's hand, but when the human began pulling, Fenris felt his breath leave him as the pain racked his mind. The small pulls were doing nothing to remove the object and he felt his chest tighten.

"STOP," he breathed out and the boy did so, "Just . . . just do it in one go."

The human grimaced, but shook his head nonetheless. Fenris held his breath for the moment to pass and the boy did his job quick and forcefully. The object's removal made the pain somewhat worse and the stinging more prevalent, but despite this, Fenris almost felt as if a weight had been removed from his chest.

Fenris gave wandering eye as the human began to work his magic. Unfamiliar with the object, Fenris braced himself for something akin to pain or burning as he usually did. What instead happened was something different and calming.

The boy steadied the rock over Fenris' side and once in place, the rock began glowing. It was a bluish hue that poured out, literally. His side felt nothing at all as the light undulated out of its rocky letters and spewed into his wound. Flesh sewed itself near instantaneously and almost every single bit of uncomfortable knick that had assailed him disappeared.

Thus, as quickly as the boy used the rock, the human pulled back, sticking the rock back in with a smile. Fenris felt up the side; it was as if he had never received an injury at all.

"Sorry for bothering you mister," the human chimed in a sing song voice, "I didn't really expect my bag to do something freaky like. Are you ok?"

Fenris narrowed his eyes and looked to his right. His sword was in arm's reach and he lifted it up slowly.

"What are you doing here, mage?"

The boy froze, confused at first but brightening as though he remembered something, "Oh, I forgot!"

Pulling out a piece of neatly folded paper, the boy handed Fenris both this paper and a strange stick. Fenris didn't even get a chance to speak as the boy continued on with his shpeal.

"So here is a survey, I just want your honest truthful opinion because it's really super-duper important for me to know. Just fill it in with the pen and I'll be on my way."

Too confused to speak, Fenris looked down to read what it said. Numerous questions were written and listed ranging from "How loud was I" to "Would you ever use this service in your everyday life" to even "If you were a cheesecake, what potato would you consume." As he rubbed the packet, it revealed even more questions on more pages spouting more and more nonsense.

Fenris simply threw the paper and . . . whatever the stick was down onto the ground before he went mad, perhaps he already did.

"ENOUGH," Fenris shouted making the boy jump, "just what is your purpose here."

The human looked unafraid but confused, "Well, nothing. I was just testing something out, but seeing as it kinda didn't work, I gotta jot down some stuff and see if I can make the experience better for next time."

Fenris narrowed his eyes and his voice grew cold, "Testing what?"

"Oh, just a funny little magic rune that LETS PEOPLE TRAVEL TO ACROSS THE STARS AND INTO ALTERNATE DIMENSIONS! But seeing as how I'm still in Tyralus, I have to head back home with a survey on the experiences."

Fenris gave the human a stare, a long stare that would forever change his fate and the fate of the human's forever. For a moment, he wasn't going to say anything, but then his mouth moved.

"Tyralus?" he questioned. The human nodded.

"Uh huh, cheesy biscuits and all."

"Tyralus"

"Yup."

"What's a Tyral—"

"HOLY BUNNIES IT WORKED! YEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA."

The human jumped up and down as he came towards Fenris. Fenris pulled back, but found himself locked in a hug with the human. The human shook him violently like a child's rag doll, even making the elf feel a bit nauseous.

When done, the human let go of Fenris and quickly made his way to his back. The boy, in frantic excitement, ran around the room and began hugging everything, bookcases, tables, the doors, a rock, two beans, the stair railings, etc etc. Finally recovered, Fenris took notice to the boy running up and down the stair case and raising his hands up and down numerous times.

The boy took notice of Fenris and stopped in front of him as he clapped in place, "This is so exciting. Wow this is so cool. I bet you're really really confused! Bunnies how awesome would it be to prove the existence of alternate universes. EJKLRWJIOWJFLKEJ—"

The slap from Fenris stopped the human in his tracks, Fenris was all too confused.

"Who," he began as he stepped backwards, "Who in the world are you?"

The human looked up wide eyed but gave a contemplative glare at the ground. He rubbed his face and his chin as if he had taken Fenris' comment seriously. Then, with a snap of his fingers, the human was back to looking happy again.

"Oh, yea. You must be all confused and stuff-a-mah-jiggies. I'm Abel Cas, Mister Dark Elf. What's your name?"

Fenris glared, "That is not your concern, boy. You, on the other hand, are trespassing."

Abel blew raspberries, "Pfft, don't worry about that Mister. I've got magic insurance and I can get that exploded door totally covered for. In fact, let me fix it now."

Fenris eyed the boy as he took another rock from his hand and raised it high into the air. Happily, the human lifted the rock and readied it to activate. Fenris shook his head, hoping it would be over quickly so that things he could get answers.

However, the magical light did little to fix Fenris' home. In fact, the light glowed a violent red color and door way exploded making Fenris jump back. He looked at Abel as the human scratched and tilted his head.

"Hmm, that's funny." he said, "Welp, I guess this isn't the one."

Tossing the rock behind him, Abel continued to look through his pack as the stone caused another explosion. As Fenris looked two both the doorway and the other explosion, the heat formed flames that began to grow in size. The elf took action to put them out as Abel pulled another to use.

"Here it is!"

Again it flashed a hue, only this time it glowed a purple warped light. When the light made contact with the burned door way, it also followed suit and did not fix Fenris' poor furnished home. The light actually melted it.

"Meh," Abel said throwing the rock. He continued his search and as the rock hit the ground it produced the light so much that it began to melt the floor. Fenris' eyes widened switching from the two locations until finally settling on the idiot that was starting to cause more trouble than he was worth.

When the human pulled another rock, Fenris made his way to Abel and grabbed the boy's hand.

"Stop!" he shouted, holding Abel in his tracks, "Ju– just GO!"

Raising his brow, Abel replied, "Yeesh Mister, it's not like my magic is gonna hurt anyone."

"I beg to differ." Fenris snarled. Abel rolled his eyes.

"Don't worry about it, Mister. This one for sure is gonna totally fix your problems."

And with that, the light from the rock burst out in a blinding evanescent glow. Fenris rubbed his eyes as the brightness brought tears to his eyes. When the light faded, him and Abel looked around at their surroundings. Much to Fenris' chagrin and relief, nothing had bettered or worsened. The elf slapped Abel over the head.

"Ow," Abel whined.

"Shut up, that didn't even do anything."

Abel looked at the rock closer and scratched his head. "Hmm, that's funny."

"What," Fenris said already inspecting the damages and trying to think of how to pay them. It seemed that he would need to take more jobs than he thought he'd need.

"Well, one, it's not the fixing rune that I was looking for."

Fenris sneered, "And I _suppose_ there is a 'fix everything the idiot does' magical object."

"Yup," Abel replied. Fenris gave the boy a look, had Abel not heard his very obvious sarcasm?

"Then, what does that rock do."

Abel shrugged, "Well, I'm not really good at reading at a glance, but what I can see is that it says anger, hunger, rage, and . . . oh no."

Fenris didn't hear the boy, "What?"

Abel had paused and started edging towards Fenris. Tapping on the elf's shoulder he said, "I think we should run."

"What are you talking about," Fenris said with a raised eyebrow.

"Like I think," he said slowly and softly, "we should get out of here and like do a really long jog to . . . just anywhere but here."

"Why?" Fenris said shaking his head and finally turning to face Abel, "What in the world—"

And then he saw it, the hole. It was a huge gaping portal; similar to the one Abel had been in front of only black and devoid of any playfulness. This was situated on the second floor and rose all the way up to the ceiling. The lack of light did little to help the visibility as well and thus, Fenris could not see what was inside.

But oh god, Fenris could see Abel's face in pure fright. The corner of Abel face twitched as he whispered to Fenris.

"We should run."

Fenris was about to retort, when suddenly he heard a thump. The thump shook the ground and, as far as he could tell, shook Fenris to the core. The sound had come from the inside of the dark hole and when he finally comprehended what was happening, it happened again.

Thump

Fenris turned to Abel, his eyes burning with rage, "What did you do, Mage?"

Abel laughed nervously, "Heh heh, uhh, activated a trap rune?"

Thump Thump

Fenris looked at the portal and back at Abel, "Can't you turn it off?!"

". . . no," Abel whimpered twiddling his thumbs.

Thump Thump Thump Thump

"What do we do then?"

"Well we could always just run?"

Fenris wanted to tear his house out, "THIS IS MY HOME."

Abel gave a confused look and then grimaced, "Oh, sorry. My trap rune doesn't have house insurance."

And then a sound rang out from the hole, a sound that Abel and Fenris both heard in full force. To Fenris, it was a trumpet call for a beast of pure destruction and the resounding moment where he finally felt the doom of what had just occurred. He turned to Abel, who also had been facing him. For a second they stood there, almost hoping the beast had disappeared. But when the thumps came back, they both bolted for the door.

Fenris crashed through and as Abel stepped out, Fenris closed and began to lock the door. However, Abel pulled Fenris away before the elf could do anything. As Fenris was about to speak back at Abel for touching him, the front of the mansion was blown away by a large lizard creature with tiny arms. Fenris' eyes widened.

"Yeaaaaaaaaaaaa," Abel said hanging on his word, "We should move."

Fenris grit his teeth at this, "I'm going to make you pay." Abel smiled nervously.

The creature caught sight of them shortly, almost smiling in anticipation, its teeth glistening in the night light. With that bit of motivation, Fenris began running as fast as he could. Abel followed the elf as they ran and ran, their pursuer keeping up with them and roaring as if to taunt them.

It would be an hour before they would stop running, but for the both of them, the exercise would forever cement the chaos that was

Abel Cas

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**Thank You For Reading**

**Please Review**


	2. Chapter 2

**Please read and review**

**If you can say ANYTHING to help, whether they be love letters or harsh criticisms, I would appreciate the help!**

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**Chapter 2**

**Breakfast Tastes Like Breakfast**

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Hawke was not a morning person. That was a fact that she had lived with ever since she began to understand her own sentience. From the moment she realized what night and day was, the morning daze had always been the bane of her existence. Now granted, sometimes the morn had not given her a usual beating of either hangovers or pain, but overall she felt the need to sleep in most days.

This was not one of those days.

She woke up early to the sound of thumps and distant roars of a draconic creature, sending her scrambling for cover. When her mind did clear, the sounds had vanished, but her house had reared to life nonetheless. Toby, her mabari, had undoubtedly felt the tremors and shakes and that was enough to shake the hound. His barking woke up her mother, her brother, and the two dwarves Sandal and Bodahn.

By the time she had gotten prepared for the apocalypse, the guards came around, telling everyone to stay indoors until whatever happened had passed.

Frustration called to her, but her mother's voice overpowered Hawke's anger and the mage quickly relaxed in her own room. Carver left shortly after, trying to still avoid his older sister. She almost sneered at her brother. He was a Templar, so he had permission to move around and investigate. Still, that didn't excuse the fact that the idiot had been avoiding her ever since he had given Bethany over to the Templars. Bethany and mother, on the other hand, had forgiven him. He had his ideals and beliefs and he wasn't a child now.

In any case, Hawke had expected to eat alone with her mother that morning and had hoped to leave her house before noon. But when she came down the stairs and neared her way to the kitchen, the sound of three swift, firm knocks clicked against the door.

"That was quick," she thought to herself as she moved to answer the door, "Surely they can't be done already."

Slowly, Hawke took calm steps towards the door, being careful not to drag her feet along the clean floor. When she came about an arm's length, she could hear whispers seep through the cracks of her door's frame.

"Are you sure your friend's awake mister," The first voice said in a childish tone, "It's really early you know."

"I doubt anyone would be sleeping after our little parade around high town."

Hawke paused at the door as curiosity settled in. Who were these two . . . The first voice was unfamiliar, but the second voice was somewhat recognizable, if not muffled.

"Oh, don't be so angry! We got to do some exer-ma- cis-ing! Gets you pumped up and ready for the day!"

The second hissed back, "I don't care about the run. What I do care is that you destroyed my only home! Where am I supposed to stay!?"

"And what brought that along –" Hawke said as she opened the door. The mage paused in surprise as she saw the figure of a familiar dark skinned elf facing away from the door. Slowly, Fenris turned towards Hawke as he tried to compose himself before her.

"Fenris . . ." Hawke blinked almost in shock. He was the last person she had expected to see on her doorstep. Then again, he always was willing to hunt down his former master.

The tattooed elf opened and closed his mouths once or twice scratching his head. He sighed as he followed the mage's own example and said, "Hawke."

The two stood there; the quiet and still air had started to settle around them. Both mage and mage hunter could not find the words to express themselves and the silence grew more and more awkward for them. But fortunately for them, a friendly face popped around Fenris and to look at the distraught Hawke.

"Hello ma'am! I am Abel Cas. We totally did not cause any trouble around town and we are totally not suspicious. May we please come in?"

Fenris' expression morphed back into his usual grumbly state, "Please stop talking."

His dwarven accent perplexed Hawke for a second the mage thought he was one before she got a good look. The figure behind Fenris was definitely a young human and looked in his teens, even younger than her own brother. His eyes were large and innocent with a smile settled on the lower half of his face that was far more genuine than needed. It wasn't a face she was familiar with, after all the Hawke childhood had not been one to allow such innocence. Two apostates had kept her family on their toes, whether it'd be fear of demons or of Templars.

Hawke, luckily, shrugged off her initial confusion. Looking back towards Fenris, she asked, ". . . and who is this?"

The elf replied swiftly, "Someone that," he grumbled before continuing, "might have destroyed my home . . . and brought something along for the ride."

Hawke raised an eyebrow at this and looked towards the now nervously laughing teen, "Heh . . . heh . . . Well, at least it was temporary."

"My home, on the other hand, isn't." Fenris said through grit teeth. He turned back at the child swiftly to glare at him with unseen ferocity. Hawke, stepped forward to grab the elf's shoulder.

"Easy there," she said. Her grip was firm and the elf stopped, "Come in for breakfast, you're probably tired."

Fenris looked back at Hawke almost as if he was to start something. However, it was only a matter of seconds before his eyes soften. The dark skinned elf shook off her hand, but complied by walking in. The human clapped his hands excitedly and followed, only to be stopped by Hawke's imposing glare.

"You're not going to destroy this house . . . are you?" she interrogated, folding her arms.

Abel shook his head. Lifting his right hand up in a salute he said, "Nope, I'll be a good boy."

And with that, Hawke let the child in.

Toby had been lazily lying near the front of the kitchen. When the sight of two guests came into his view, he jumped up and frantically rushed up to them. The mabari panted excitedly as he tried to lick their faces, covering all three in a bit of slobber. Fenris flinched, trying to back away as much as possible. His younger companion, on the other hand, stepped forward as his eyes widened gleefully.

"DAAAAAAAAAAAAW," he squealed, "Aren't you a CUTE WIDDLE DOGGY."

Toby barked, sharing the child's excitement. Abel nodded as he pet the large hound happily.

"Who's a good doggy; yesh you are, yesh you are! You're so ado-wah-boooowl!"

Hawke couldn't help but grin at the child. His happiness was far too infectious to ignore and soon she had to stop herself from trying to join in on the petting. Fenris didn't look too pleased, but he remained quiet.

"Alright," Hawke said patting Toby away, "No need to spoil him too much."

It was then, that Hawke's mother, Leandra Amell, came out of the kitchen, "Who was that Hawke? Are you going to be staying for break—"

The mother froze seeing her daughter's guests. She observed the two before looking at Hawke questioningly, "Are they . . ."

Hawke nodded as the mother sighed, "Alright then," she rolled up her sleeves, "Food for two more coming right up."

Abel beamed at this as he chased after Leandra, "Oh! I can help!"

Thus, the two were left alone once more, Fenris and Hawke were starting to get used to the uncomfortable atmosphere. Even Toby had left them as he was more interested in the boy that had shown an exuberance and affection toward him.

Hawke broke the silence with a smirk, however, and turned her head to Fenris.

"So when did you become a babysitter?"

Fenris gnashed his teeth, "When he invaded my home and destroyed it with his accursed magic."

Hawke nodded and chuckled mischievously. She pulled him towards the dining room and they both sat across from each other. As they sat, their seats squeaked upon arrival. The door on the right of them shook busily with the sounds of frantic cooking and cheery barks. She had hoped they'd be louder, maybe then she wouldn't have to talk to Fenris.

Fenris, Fenris, Fenris

What a strange sort of person he was to her. He was a mystery and yet a clear window on a mid-summer's day. It was clear that he hated the Tevinter mages; to hell with those slaver mages. What she couldn't get was why he hated ALL mages. Of course, the whole idea of the blight and demon possession made sense, but didn't he feel some kinship with her? Didn't he feel for her or any other mage that had been under the oppression of the Circle?

No, of course not. Fenris wasn't the type to associate his plight with mages. For all he cared, every mage that existed was merely another vessel just waiting to get possessed and another heart to tear out. Well, that was what Hawke felt anyways when she was around him.

But here he was, asking for help once more from an apostate that should have been far too reckless for his taste. Then again, who knows what happened to him. Hawke hadn't seen him in about a month and the elf apparently brought a mage that was still alive and kicking. So was this a step in the right direction?

"Well, you are at least ok then, right?"

The elf shrugged, "I've lost my largest asset. A place of operations was just what I needed and I just had to lose it to a mage no less."

"You could find some more assets," Hawke said with a smile, "near the Blooming Rose."

Fenris gave a deadpan look at Hawke. She tried to say something, but ultimately her voice could not find power in any word. So she turned away, embarrassed.

_Note to self, no asset jokes around Fenris . . ._

_What a great start . . ._

* * *

Fenris smacked his lips as his anxiety set in. He was more bewildered than anything, but after a second of thought he realized what Hawke had meant.

Oh Maker, she was trying to joke with him.

Like hammer meeting steel, his mind grew dizzyingly shaky with thoughts. He couldn't just laugh right there, no, he had already taken too long. Assets, Assets, Assets. He just could not think of a witty comeback. Ok then, how about something snarky or rude.

Wait NO, he was trying to get friendlier with Hawke not make her hate him even more! Here she was right there, ready to talk with him to where she even invited him into her home and what did he do, NOTHING.

He gathered his voice, trying to pull something from deep within him to ease the situation.

But alas, all that came out was a sigh as he looked away.

Maker, he could not speak around this woman.

* * *

Hawke managed to grab a look at Fenris and breathed a sigh of relief, seeing his uncomfortable gaze aimed away from her. He was still staying silent and almost seemed to struggle. Now, was that a good thing or a bad thing? She didn't know what he felt, but her gut feeling was feeling very negative.

She almost considered cracking another joke just to kill the quiet, before her mother opened the door with breakfast in her hands. Erupting behind her was Abel Cas, a loaf of bread stuck in his mouth and an equally large portion of their meal. The two set the table with startling efficiency and in seconds, a smile broke out on Hawke as she watched her mother.

"That was fast," the mage said. Her mother nodded.

"Indeed it was," Mrs. Amell looked satisfied, "I swear your guest here is frighteningly efficient. I wish Carver was more like you."

Hawke scoffed, but both cooks didn't seem to catch her reaction. Abel only rubbed the back of his head (a recurring action that she noticed in the boy), as he smiled gleefully.

"Thank you, Ma'am. I just wanted to help."

The older woman smiled, "Oh, and of course still respectful to his elders."

"So this is how you kill people with courtesy," Hawke quipped snidely with a smirk, "by starving them."

The boy had a blank look while Hawke's mother narrowed her eyes. Nonetheless, both of them sat down to eat. The three dug in, taking part of one dish here and part of another dish there, and soon they settled down to taking apart their foraged preferences. Only Abel still looked confused as the proceedings of the meal went on, and it took a while before all three noticed his dopey expression.

"Are you alright?" Hawke's mother cooed comfortingly. His face morphed from confusion to curiosity.

"I don't get it."

Hawke raised an eyebrow, ". . . don't get what?"

"How do you kill someone with courtesy?"

A moment of silence passed as the sound of wind passed through the Amell Mansion's halls. Hawke blinked as her own baffled visage came up.

"Wait, excuse me?"

"Yea, I know right? How does courtesy starve someone to death?" The boy nodded to himself, "You'd think that someone who's courteous would give a guy to eat if he really needed it."

At that, Hawke broke into a laugh. Her mother continued to look befuddled as Fenris poked at his food while glaring daggers at the teen. As she gathered herself the young man gave an tilted his head.

"Um, did I do something wrong?"

Hawke stifled a laugh, barely holding back and collecting herself at the same time. "Oh, no, no, no. Nothing's wrong. I just cannot wait till for you to meet someone. My god, it'll be like looking in a mirror."

Fenris' eye widened as hit himself in realization, "Maker, please no."

"Oh?" she leered at the elf with a snide smirk, "and why not? Afraid something might happen."

And right there, a hint of a smile came out of the irritable elf. Hawke could not believe it at all; an actual genuine smile had sprouted from that crabby face of his. But as quickly as she noticed the smile, he seemed to as well as his face changed back into his usual uncomfortable self.

"I . . . well," Fenris looked away, "I just don't want them doing something stupid that is all"

"Maker, you think the world would collapse in on itself if they met each other?" Hawke said.

"Wait, really?!" Abel bewilderingly said. Lips puckered as his face worried, "How would I do . . ."

Fenris merely massaged his temples when Hawke raise her hand as she laughed, "Still a joke. No need to worry about it —um . . . Abel was it?"

The boy nodded but looked on perplexed as ever. Both Hawke and Fenris endured their hilarious torture, hoping to calm down after a while. However, that would not be the case.

When Abel responded with, "I still don't get it," they continued to break out even harder than before. The motherly figure of Mrs. Amell patted his back.

"No need to worry love. Just ignore them"

"But how did I—"

"Ah," The old woman interrupted, "Meal first, questions later."

Abel nodded, "Yes, ma'am."

He eventually shrugged off his lack of understanding and began to eat, quickly convincing the others to do the same. It took a bit, but both Hawke and Fenris settled down. Fenris didn't seem less than his usual grouch self, but Hawke felt worlds better now. Finally she had seen a real chink in his armor, his anti-mage and spitefully spiky armor. Now the real question would be asking how to make that chink just a bit bigger . . .

* * *

Happiness and bliss were all that Abel felt from his fellow breakfast eating comrades. Even if he didn't understand what they were laughing about, the thought of making people smile gave him the jittery goodness of a thousand suns. In addition the atmosphere was simply delicious, though then again it was probably the food that had made its way into his tummy. Mrs. Hawke's mother was such a nice person and a great cook.

"This is really good Mrs. Hawke's mother," he said after swallowing a biscuit, "What are these wonderful delicacies."

The elder woman smiled, "Oh nothing special just some salted gruel and sweetened biscuits. I'm more surprised that you know how to help around the kitchen. Most men wouldn't be caught dead near a stove."

"Father didn't seem to mind." Hawke noted off handedly. Her mother smiled nostalgically, reminding herself of simpler times.

"True, but he didn't have much to do while hiding his magic."

Abel turned his head in confusion. The way they had all described magic puzzled the teen. Fenris was the first example. Abel had merely thought of him as someone who had experienced some tragedy related with magic, previous to their meeting. This notion of hiding magic sparked his curious mind into gleaning more.

Mr. Fenris still looked angry and Abel himself had some regrets. Destroying someone's home without some sort of insurance was like setting a dog on fire, it was really REALLY bad to do. Perhaps, he could do something to cheer up the "dark elf" (if of course Mr. Fenris was a dark elf).

Shuffling through his bag, the eager beaver of an Abel Cas grabbed a familiar potato that he had carried with him through so many of his adventures. Professor TaterBottom Loc Defolien the 3rd, as Abel Mr. Taters as he called him, had always given the human so much comfort. Why not share that comfort.

"Mr. Fenris," he said as he raised the potato, "CATCH!"

Abel threw the potato at the elf, hoping that the being super human reflexes would grab it before it reached his face. However, what had not occurred in his head was the thought processes that differentiated his universe's elves with this one and that perhaps these elves did not have a double heart circulatory system

or have superhuman reflexes of his elves

or were as keen at dodging the painful attacks of potato throws.

So when the potato did reach Fenris, it smashed into his face and made him drop his utensils. Abel completely froze, his overjoyed expression and outward hand still standing as they were when he let go of the potato. His eyes were first to break out of his stupor and a frown quickly followed. Fenris was not please.

"I WILL KILL YOU, YOU DEMONIC SPAWN OF IDIOCY!" the elf shouted as he attempted to jump across the table.

Needless to say, it took a while to calm him down . . . and to get him to stop strangling Abel with his bare hands

* * *

It was quiet now, half an hour of awkward fiddling and munching had passed and the air was still unbearable. Fenris was even more moodier than before and, with things going even more south by the minute, Hawke felt as though she had taken one step forward and three steps back.

Her mother had given Abel a talking to, mostly about why it was rude to throw random vegetables across the table. The teen looked as morose and guilt ridden (and perhaps more) when she did so. Honestly, Hawke couldn't find the hatred to patronize Abel; the boy seemed more stupid than anything else. Fenris wouldn't talk with her and even if it was only the boy's fault, he probably was too irritated to respond back with anything other than a hiss.

But she then began to get curious about Abel. What had compelled him to throw the potato in the first place, why did he have a potato in the first place? Hawke thought long and hard as she recalled Fenris' and Abel's earlier comments. What was this boy?

Hawke began to talk when her mother took the plates away to be washed. Once the door closed she began by saying, "So how did you meet our local . . . elf warrior over there."

Abel tilted his head at first, almost as if he had trouble remembering what had happened. Suddenly, his eyes widened, "Oops!"

He brought up his shoulder bag and shuffled through it, pulling out a small stack of papers. Once he found them neat enough, he gave an imposing stack of papers to Hawke. Fenris had stopped eating at this point and noticed the papers as the one he had looked at before. The Hawke looked confused at the long list of questions.

"Well this seems . . . interesting," she commented, still fascinated with the variety of questions presented before her. She blushed when it asked how many times she had sexual intercourse. Still with the tension being close to impalpable she asked, "What's a questionnaire got to do with anything?"

Abel beamed as he was just about to answer Hawke. However, Fenris interrupted with his sullied tone and negative attitude. "Came through a portal and ended up inside one of the rooms on the bottom floor. Apparently, he made it himself."

The Ferelden mage narrowed her eyes. A portal? Well this was starting to turn out more interesting than she thought.

"Yup!" Abel replied without hesitation, "It wasn't that hard. I just needed to write a bunch of runes, calculate the mathematical descriptions of atomic and subatomic interactions with energy, eat a banana, then I pooped—"

"Excuse me what?" Hawke sputtered out, "Half of that sentence did make any sense."

Abel looked confused, "What do you mean? Don't you guys poop?"

Hawke was about to speak, but Fenris signed out a message not to continue. The mage simply shrugged and said, "Never mind, just continue with your story."

Nodding, he replied with, "Alright then, I guess after I helped doing that, they told me to activate the portal and jump in. Some guy told me to give out these fliers if the test was successful!"

"And if you weren't successful?" Hawke asked.

"I'd get vaporized!" he shouted enthusiastically. The others looked at his still smiling face and sweat slightly.

"Ok . . ." Hawke said hesitantly as she shifted her weight on the chair. She was looking at Fenris who now was also giving visual signals of his own shock. Apparently he was just as surprised as she was about this.

"Can I ask questions too?" Abel asked.

Hawke shrugged, "Why not, I guess you deserve that much." Fenris on the other hand seemed to disagree.

"What?" His exasperation seemed to be at its peak, "You can't be serious Hawke."

She raised an eyebrow, "He's just a child and it's not like he's going to go into personal questions, right?"

"Nope,"

"Exactly, so give him a chance and we'll sort this whole thing out."

Fenris mumbled, but begrudgingly accepted Hawke's thoughts with resenting looks. As long as they were aimed away from her, Hawke was perfectly fine with Fenris' animosity.

Turning to Abel, she rested her face onto her hand, "Go ahead."

With a smile, Abel pulled out a small leather bound notebook out of his pack as well as a strange writing utensil. The lavender cover intrigued Hawke more than the utensil as the color was rare to fine as cloth or silk let alone a coloration for leather. After opening up the book, Abel flicked a little ribbon that dangled off the stem and scribbled something before he spoke up.

"So you said something about hiding magic," he began, speaking unusually in a scholarly tone. A hint of inquisitiveness came into his voice as he continued further, "did something happen?"

Hawke didn't make a sound at first, mostly because she was looking at Abel's face for any signs of trouble. Two things came into her mind at that moment. The first was that if Abel _was_ lying, he was doing a damn good job about it. His face had a look that screamed knowledge and his gaze was focused in his questioning. There was no twitch or indication of hesitation in his face or his body, so he certainly looked like someone who was unaware of something.

The second thought came when she looked into his eyes. Eyes were the windows into the soul, everyone knew that little saying, but with Abel's eyes, the saying had gone to another level. Innocence could be a word to describe that look, but a certain part of her wanted to give the boy more credit. Perhaps he wasn't innocent, maybe he was . . . eager? No, that wasn't it. It was something else, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

Thus she decided to amuse the "teleporting" traveller.

"Well," Hawke began slowly, trying to find the correct words, "Fenris' reason for hating mages is because he had been enslaved. To be more precise, the mages in the Tevinter Imperium branded him and gave him those tattoos. You can say that the Tevinter mages give us a bad name."

Almost immediately, Abel's expression grew depressed and wracked with guilt. Putting his book down, he nodded respectfully to Fenris.

"I'm sorry Mr. Fenris. It was really really disrespectful of me to intrude on your home . . . and throw a potato at you."

The elf waved away the comment, obviously still frustrated, "Guh."

"He says thank you. Got anything else before I start pestering you myself?"

Abel nodded, "So mages are looked down on because the Te . . ti . . ter . . . um impea- im . . . thingy?"

The mage paused, "More so that we have the potential to be taken over by demons and that people say that mages caused the blight . . . and you probably don't know what that is."

"NOPE!" he said excitedly writing all he had heard down. Scribbling down a couple more notes, ever so excitable Abel looked at up towards Fenris and Hawke, ". . . is it still my turn?"

Hawke shrugged, "Well, I figured you'd be more interested in the whole demon and blight thing."

"Oh that, pfft," Abel laughed off the notion, "I guess then sure."

"Don't believe me?" Hawke was almost insulted.

"No, not really. I just find it one of my least interesting questions?"

At this Fenris almost looked enraged, "Least interested? Are demons such a common occurrence that you find them boring? "

"No," Abel said this in a strangely calm manner as he scratched something into his book, "I just prefer to judge people by what they do, not what they can become."

The air went still at that comment with the only sound coming from the matrimony of pen and paper. Hawke wanted to say something, but her thoughts forced a smile on her face. It was comforting to hear his words. Fenris on the other hand, was far less reasonable.

"Are you insulting me, boy?"

"Nope!" Abel's smile was yet again as infectious as it was genuine, "Just saying what I feel."

"It doesn't matter what we _feel, _the truth is that mages are a menace. Whether they rule over a kingdom or are caged in the Circle, demon possession is always present."

Abel looked concern and yet again wrote, "Mr. Fenris that's really—"

"Wait a moment Abel," Hawke interrupted. Abel held fast turning his attention back at the mage, "I think that I need to talk with this elf."

Abel's eyes went wide at this, but he kept quiet. Just as he gathered his things, Abel was stopped when Fenris raised his arm to stop him.

"We're not finished mage," he snarled towards Abel. Abel scratched his head.

"To be fair Mr. Fenris," Abel corrected, "I'm not a mage. I'm actually a runic writer and I use runes."

Fenris stood and his face got uncomfortably close to Abel, "I don't care."

Abel held firm, but the awkwardness of it all got to him as his mind urged him to walk away. Slowly, but surely, he got around Fenris and closed the door behind him. With his presence gone, the battlefield shifted into a one on one bout between the two comrades. Hawke drew first with stinging words.

"What's the matter with you, Fenris?"

"What's the MATTER?" Fenris almost shouted, "What do you think? You're sympathizing with the idiot boy who destroyed my home and ignored my comments! Why else would I be angry?"

"Oh, I heard you loud and clear," Hawke said pushing back her chair, "Mages are a menace, huh? You sure you're not angry just because you see a mage sympathizing with another mage!"

Fenris glared but tried to continue on another line, "That mage comment didn't include you."

"Really now? Because the way I see it, I'm seeing a lot of hate for what I am and what I can do. "

Grumbling to himself, the elf stood to get up to his feet, "Well you don't destroy other people's home or summon portals into the fade that summon things to break your ribs."

Hawke folded her arms as she moved around the room. Her frustration was starting to build and her head felt just close enough to boiling. Thus, as she hissed out, Hawke massaged her temple to clear her head.

"What really happened there? Why did you bring him along in the first place?"

Throwing his hands up Fenris said, "He just appeared and he used whatever demonic magic to spark the destruction of my home. The reason why he's with me is because I want some restitution; whether through blood or coin I don't care. He's going to pay with something."

"And the other reason?"

Fenris did a double take, "What?"

Hawke was looking straight into the elf's blue eyes, "He's a child. You're not really expecting something out of him . . . oh."

"Hawke," Fenris hissed, "You're treading dangerous waters—"

"You're afraid of him."

The elf's throat tightened at that comment and he grit his teeth. "I'm always wary of mages."

"Oh, this is rich. I can read you like a book, broody."

Fenris narrowed his eyes, much to Hawke's satisfaction. He always did hate that nickname.

"And what do you see," he snarled.

"You're afraid of him, but you can't kill him because he's still a child. Even you can't kill a child so you've got to have him on a leash . . . oh wow."

Fenris stood fast against Hawke's sneer, but her eyes were making him feel as though she were boring into him, "Shut up."

"Why should I? The cute little heart stealing elf is afraid of a little boy."

"I will end him if need be."

"And if not?"

Fenris struggled now. Hawke's eyes pierced through him as the sun came in through the window. Her endless assault had left the elf in a corner, figuratively and literally as she had even begun moving closer. The elf's eye twitched as he looked away, marking an end to his aggressive tone.

"I . . . don't know."

For a moment, Fenris thought she would mock him and Hawke had a lingering thought of doing just that. But as time passed and the moment presented itself, she did not. Instead Hawke came closer to the elf and Fenris looked towards Hawke.

"It's a start . . . I guess."

Eyes met and gazes equal, both had a good long look at each other. Fenris could smell the faint hint of cherry on her as it hypnotized him. He noticed every wrinkle, every imperfection, every mark on her skin that made gave him something more to cherish. The sun bounced in her hair and for a moment Fenris swore she glowed.

Their faces were inches away from each other, lips and eyes were aligned perfectly to each other. Fenris wanted to move, oh so desperately wanted to move, but he couldn't. She wasn't expecting anything there, was she? How awkward would it be . . . how awkward . . . or how nice.

Yes . . . nice.

Slowly, his stomach tightened and he readied himself for something as he came closer. Slowly ever so slowly . . . perhaps this would be nice . . .

"Ok," Abel's voice came through the door, "now kiss and make up!"

Both Fenris and Hawke froze and their gazes drifted towards the door. There, they spied the heads of both Abel and Hawke's mother watching them with glee. Both had a smile on them, Hawke's mother had even given the mage a thumbs ups. Hawke began to blush in her embarrassment while Fenris started to boil.

"I –I am . . . I AM GOING TO KILL YOU!"

And thus they ran . . . again.


End file.
